The Delta Fire burning in Shasta County raged out of control for a second day after bursting in size Wednesday evening, continuing to close a large stretch of Interstate 5 in both directions, U.S. Forest Service officials reported Thursday.

The fire grew “aggressively” overnight, with “flame lengths estimated at 300 feet high,” according to a 9 a.m. incident update by the U.S. Forest Service.

Burning north of Lakehead and about 10 miles from Redding, the Delta Fire started about 1 p.m. Wednesday and exploded to 15,000 acres by midnight, consuming bush and timber at a “critical rate of spread,” Shasta-Trinity National Forest spokesman Joe Orosz said.

By Thursday evening the fire had grown to 22,000 acres, or 34 square miles; containment figures were not released by the Forest Service.

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Evacuations were ordered for the areas along the I-5 corridor on both sides, between Lamoine up to the Shasta-Siskiyou county line, and all residents of Dunsmuir.

An evacuation center has been established at the Mt. Shasta Community Center, 629 Alder St. The Mount Shasta Humane Society is accepting small animals of evacuees, at 1208 North Mount Shasta Blvd.

Delta and Hirz fires

Red circles on this live-updating map are actively burning areas, as detected by satellite. Orange circles have burned in the past 12 to 24 hours, and yellow circles have burned within the past 48 hours. Yellow areas represent the fire perimeter.

Source: National Interagency Fire Center

Shasta-Trinity National Forest spokesman Chris Losi said about 300 civilians have been evacuated and at least 300 structures are threatened, including 150 residences.

“There’s not a lot of people there normally, and a lot were evacuated, so that’s good,” Losi said.

The fire closed I-5 from 10 miles north of Redding at Fawndale Road to five miles south of Mount Shasta at Mott Road, Caltrans said Wednesday – a stretch of nearly 50 miles that is still closed as the fire continues to grow.

CHP officer Jason Morton said the only alternate route around the closure is taking motorists up to eight hours to navigate. Morton said the 140-mile detour on Highway 299 to Route 89 has been bumper-to-bumper the entire route.

He said the winding, mountain roads funnel to one lane each way at many points, and traffic often slows to 1 mph.

Morton said officials will reassess the safety of reopening Interstate 5 on Friday morning.

Media reports and videos posted to social media show that more than a dozen big rigs were abandoned along the freeway Wednesday. Lt. Cmdr. Kyle Foster of the California Highway Patrol’s Mount Shasta office told the Los Angeles Times that at least four had caught fire Wednesday.

Pictures sent back to Maine from Maine Forest Ranger Dustin Pickering, who is assigned to the #DeltaFire with our two Maine Forest Service engines. Saving lives and protecting property. Representing Maine. #MEFire - MISSION READY pic.twitter.com/yTgUAEDXXP

#DeltaFire burned extremely bright overnight as captured by nighttime satellite imagery. Interstate 5 is still closed from 10 miles north of Redding at Fawndale Road to 3.6 miles south of Mount Shasta at Mott Road. #CAwxpic.twitter.com/cXM3kq49sY

A fast-moving wildfire that started Wednesday, September 5, 2018, in Shasta County has swelled to 5,000 acres in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, prompting the closure of Interstate 5 in both directions.

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